Last of the free market

Did you survive Black Friday? Were you out in the Black Friday shopping? Did you venture out on Thanksgiving to begin your holiday shopping? If you did, you were not alone, if you did not, you were not alone either. Black Friday originally got its name from retailers, marking when they began moving into the black, or began making a profit. It also marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Retailers soon began that they could capitalize on the people willing to save a few dollars. As the popularity grew, sales became greater, slashing prices and the crowds continued to grow. Once the crowds starting growing, the retailers responded by opening earlier and earlier until now, some are opening on Thanksgiving to start the holiday shopping season. Somehow, a debate has sprung up about stores opening on Thanksgiving. Where the debate came from, I have not figured out, I cannot even figure out why there is a debate. If a private company wants to open their doors on a holiday, they have that right. If someone wants to shop on a holiday, they also have that right. That is what is so great about a free market, if there is a demand for something, the market will produce a supply. I hear everyone weigh in on the issue and it seems like a bunch of people are against it, for two reasons. The first is the horror of making a person work during a holiday and the second is the greed of the people shopping, just to save a few dollars. Making someone work on a holiday, really? That’s an argument against it? How many other holidays are retail stores open? Last time I checked, I could shop on Valentine’s Day, that’s a day to be with loved ones. Not good enough, how about Nevada Day? I could shop on that day too. Even Memorial Day, I could go to the store and find a deal and Memorial Day is a day to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we have the right to shop on any day we want. Let me look at this a different way. What other employees have to work on Thanksgiving? Fire, police, ambulance and hospital workers have to work on Thanksgiving, I will grant you that they are emergency personal and we need those services. What about restaurant workers, you can find lots of restaurants that are open and serving all day and night. Why is there no outcry about them having to work? What about convenience stores and gas stations? I’ve been able to get gas on Thanksgiving, but no outcry for them or the fast food workers that have to work on Thanksgiving. Living in Las Vegas, should our casinos and hotels give all of their employees Thanksgiving off? We could just shut down the Strip for a day. The other reason why stores should be closed is because of the greedy consumer wanting to buy everything at a discount. Why should a consumer be restricted? If I want to buy something, I am sure that someone would be willing to accommodate me. What if I do not celebrate Thanksgiving, or do not have anyone to celebrate with on Thanksgiving? Who are you to judge me if I want to brave the crazy mobs and save a few dollars? I will say that it has gotten crazy out there with a worker being killed in 2008 and this year a lady being zapped with a stun gun, but that’s Black Friday, not Turkey Thursday. This should not even be a debate, the only people that should have this debate are the owners, whether they want to be open or not; or the consumers, whether they want to battle through the crowds of sale happy people. I am either at home or doing something with my family. I do not go shopping, but I am not against people who do, or the stores that open to satisfy the demands of the market. I actually like that where there is a demand, it is being met by the market. I am just waiting for the government to step in and take away more of our liberty. For links and references please click here.

Sgt Schultz in the White House

When I was a child, one of my favorite shows was “Hogan’s Heroes.” It was sit com set in World War II and based on a group of Allied POWs in a German Prison Camp. One of the main characters was Sgt. Schultz, a German guard whose famous catch phrase was “I see nothing. I know nothing.” Every time he would bellow that phrase, the audience would erupt with laughter. No one took him seriously, they weren’t supposed to but then he wasn’t the leader of a country. Listening to President Obama speak the other day about the revelation that the NSA was spying on foreign leaders made me think of Sgt. Schultz. Obama’s comment on the spying was he didn’t know anything. This time I didn’t hear the audience laughs, like they did at Sgt. Schultz. If it wasn’t real life, I might have laughed. Are we really supposed to believe that the President does not know what his own spy agency is doing? Maybe not knowing about one scandal is one thing, but is this the only thing the President knows nothing about? Hardly. Early in his presidency, Obama used the same defense when news of the Fast and Furious scandal broke. The ATF was selling guns to Mexican drug cartels and the US had no way of tracking those firearms and unlike Bush, did not notify the Mexican government of the American operation. This operation was came to light after a border agent, Brian Terry, was found murdered by weapons sold under Operation Fast & Furious. The ATF under Obama’s Justice Department apparently did not notify anyone in the White House and Obama didn’t learn about the operation until he saw it on the news. Another example of “I see nothing, I know nothing.” On the anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, we were attacked in Libya. Even though Obama was briefed shortly after the attack began and the next morning blamed a video tape; he still went to the Sgt. Schultz defense. He didn’t know what was happening. He was briefed shortly after the attack began; he appeared in the morning (after disappearing all night) and blamed a video. So did he know or not? Well maybe he is just ignoring international scandals because he is focusing so hard on domestic issues. But we see the same defense when the IRS scandal broke. The IRS was found to be politically targeting conservative and tea party groups, which just happen to be Obama’s political enemy. How nice, especially since he didn’t know anything about it. The whole scandal was dumped on a couple of “rogue” employees in a regional office, even though there is evidence proving the orders came from the White House. But of course, Obama “sees nothing, knows nothing.” Are you laughing yet? Let me ask a serious question. What does Obama know? I bet he knows where his next family vacation is going to be. I bet he knows when his next round of golf is. I bet he knows where his next campaign stop is going to be. I bet he knows where the next illegal immigration rally is. It’s apparent by Obama’s own comments that he is unfit to hold the office of President, he sees nothing and he knows nothing. Is that really what we want out of a “leader?” For links from this article check out my examiner article here.